Athlon 64 Overclocking Guide Options

[stezo2k]

Version 1.0 21/04/05

WARNING: I hold NO responsibility for any damage caused

WARNING: Before starting make sure you find out how to reset your BIOS for if the PC fails to boot and doesn't recover itself

NOTE: Socket 754 users make sure you have a PCI/AGP lock and it's enabled before overclocking, else you'll be lucky to get 220FSB. If you don't have a PCI/AGP lock i'd advise you not to overclock because it could damage your graphics card/PCI devices

1. Recommended Tools:

Prime '95 (For testing stability) http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft.htm
A program to check your CPU temp, motherboard monitor is good http://mbm.livewiredev.com/download.html
Memtest '86 (for checking for RAM errors) http://www.memtest86.com/
CPU-Z (For checking CPU info) http://www.cpuid.org/cpuz.php
Benchmarking software, 3D mark is good http://futuremark.com/download/

2. What you need to know

Overclocking can strain your system, and in the worst cases damage your hardware if you don't know what you're doing, do not overclock if your PC unless you are confident with PC hardware/software.

Overclocking is an art and a hobby of mine, you can get more for your money when overclocking, e.g my 3000+ (s939) cost be £120, when i overclock it to 2.2GHz, it has the same performance as the 3500+, which is around £200, thus saving £80.

Heat effects your CPU, as you overclock your CPU, your CPU will gain more heat, keep an eye on your CPU temps.

Don't let the CPU go anything over 60C idle, else you risk your CPU of being damaged.

If you want to lower your temps, getting better cooling is a good idea, I don't know of many good Athlon 64 heatsinks, but watercooling is highly recommended for overclocking and can nock around 20C off your temps. I find the stock AMD heatsink is pretty good for a decent overclock anyway, overclocked my CPU is only 32C idle.

RAM is a big factor when it comes to CPU overclocking, as the FSB (front side bus) increases, the RAM speed also does too. I'd only recommend overclocking with RAM which is DDR400 (PC3200) or faster, otherwise you won't get much more out of your CPU. With RAM, you usually get what you pay for, if you have pricey stuff, chances are it will overclock well, if you have generic/value DDR400 RAM, you'll be lucky to get 220FSB out of it without dropping the RAM speed. If you want good RAM which won't need to be reduced in speed for an overclock, i'd go for RAM faster than DDR400 (PC3200), brands like OCZ and Crucial are highly recommended for overlocking.

Obviously, the CPU itself is a factor when overclocking. Here is a list of what Athlon 64 CPUs are the best for overclocking at present:

Athlon 64 3000+ (Winchester & Venice Cores)
Athlon 64 3200+ (Winchester & Venice Cores)
Athlon 64 3500+ (Winchester & Venice Cores)
Athlon 64 3800+ (Venice Core)
Athlon 64 FX53 (All cores)
Athlon 64 FX55 (All cores)

Your core info can be found on CPU-Z found at the top of the guide

Just because your CPU isn't on the list, doesn't mean it can't overclock very well, it's just those CPUs are common for high overclocks, so socket 754 users don't worry, but I have to agree at present, socket 939 is the best for overclocking.

Not all CPUs are the same, some models run hotter than others (my friends who has a very similar setup to me has his CPU 8C hotter than mine, and his is bearly overclocked)

Core Guide:

Clawhammer: Moderate Overclocking Possibilities (Variable)
Sledgehammer: Moderate Overclocking Possibilities
Newcastle: Low/Moderate Overclocking Possibilities (Variable)
Winchester: Moderate/High Overclocking Possibilities
Venice: Moderate/High Overclocking Possibilities

Low: 200-300 MHz overclock
Moderate: Around 500 MHz+ overclock
High: 700MHz+ overclock

Remember: The more you overclock, the more chances of your system becoming unstable, to help make your system stable, add an extra small voltage to your CPU(AKA Vcore)/RAM

3. Overclocking

OK, now here's an example of an overclock:

AMD Athlon 64 3000 (Winchester S939)
Stock Speed: 1800MHz
Multiplier: 9X

*Remember to keep an eye on the CPU temp, try not to get it over 60C*

1. Enter your bios by pressing Del or F2 (Varies which each motherboard)
2. Set the HTT multiplier to 4
3. I'm using DDR400, so i'd lower it to DDR333 (or the lower the RAM number in the RAM:CPU ratio) to make the RAM more stable as the FSB goes up, don't forget at 250FSB, the RAM will be 400MHz again
4. Keep increasing the FSB by 3-5mhz and testing in between each increase
5. Unstable at 262 FSB
6. Increased CPU voltage by 0.025v and RAM voltage slightly
7. Stable
8. Keep increasing the FSB by 3-5mhz and testing in between each increase
9. Unstable at 267 FSB
10. Changed DDR Speed to DDR266 (because of the RAM being DDR400, over 250FSB it would run past DDR400)
11. Stable again
12. Keep increasing the FSB by 3-5mhz and testing in between each increase
13. Unstable at 282 FSB
14. Went back to last stable overclock (267 FSB), i feel this is a good enough overclock

Stable Overclock: 267 x 9 = 2400 MHz
Stock Speed: 1800 MHz
An overclock of 600 MHz

This post has been edited by stezo2k: Apr 20 2005, 07:17 PM